Rebirth
by Natsyourlord
Summary: All Alice wanted was a chance at redemption... all she wanted was a chance to change herself.
1. Prologue

All she wanted was a chance at redemption... all she wanted was a chance to change everything.

-:- R e **_B _**i **r t **_h _-:-

Prologue

Pain. The world was pain.

The girl's eyes flickered, fighting against the agony that was brought with consciousness. She struggled against the pain that was like a weight on her shoulders, pushed herself up to a sitting position, then gasped and collapsed to the ground again.

She slowly began to take in her surroundings - or at least, what she could make of them from her positon, splayed on her back and looking at the sky. What an unusual sky.

She had the feeling that she was in a sort of enclosure, but certainly a large one. Purple and indigo clouds covered whatever was above her - they seemed to slip between themselves, like fluid, almost, and they almost appeared to glow. Against her back, she could feel a hard, rough surface. It felt like rock. But the rock itself also felt unusual. It took her a moment to figure it out, but suddenly, she did. The rock was wet. And warm.

Wiping her fingertips across the surface, she lifted her hand above her face. Her eyes widened, and she shuddered. Quickly she dropped her arm - she didn't want to look at the liquid on her hand.

Blood. Lots of it.

She felt sick to her stomach now - positively sick. But she noticed something else. The agonizing pain that she had been in minutes ago had now subsided to a throbbing ache in her back. Though it still hurt badly, she was able to fight her way to her feet. Blood pooled around her feet, staining her white shoes and jacket. It streaked along her legs and arms, and spilled out in a huge blot of red across the gray rock. She stared in horror at the sight around her, then dropped to her knees and threw up.

_What happened here?_

Finished retching, she moved to stand up again, but stopped when she noticed something beneath her hand. Confused, she picked it up. A toy rapier, completely drenched in blood.

She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that the rapier... was _hers. _Even though she had no idea how to use it. In the spot where the rapier had been lying, she noted something else. A bottle. She picked it up too, and opened it.

Immediately an awful, putrid stench hit her nostrils. Disgusted, she attempted to re-cap the bottle quickly, but her fingers fumbled and she dropped it.

_Dumbo Decus!_

She froze.

Why had she thought that name? Who was Dumbo Decus?

And suddenly, she had another thought.

_Who... am I? Who am I? Who am I?!?_

Stumbling to her feet, she ran as fast as she could, away from the blood and the clouds and the smell and _everything._ Who was she and where was she and what on Earth was going on and why couldn't she remember anything??

* * *

Please review. I'll update eventually.


	2. Remembrance

All Alice wanted was a chance at redemption. All she wanted was to change herself.

* * *

Plot bunnies attacked me. I swear. They were vicious.

I most likely won't update as fast as this again, especially considering that my internet is crap and I have school and such to think about. But I _will _update again eventually. Promise.

In the meantime, enjoy this.

-:- R e **_B _**i **r t **_h _-:-

Remembrance

The mirror showed a girl of about eighteen. The girl had greasy, unkempt hair that would probably be platinum blond when clean, but was now brown with blood and dirt. Her skin was pale - almost white - except for the places where it was streaked with blood. A short gash stretched from her temple through her right eyebrow. Her face, neck, and the rest of her body had other such abrasions and bruises. The girl's amber eyes were cloudy, lost. She had the appearance of a zombie, of someone who should have been dead.

Which, according to the huge, scabbing wound across her back, that was _exactly_ what she should have been.

The girl was in a small motel in Flanoir, or at least that was what the locals told her. They had been stunned when they had pulled her out of the ocean. Apparently she had been floating on a piece of debris and a little boy had spotted her from the docks. But when they'd asked what had happened to her, she couldn't answer. She had no idea. She remembered running out, onto the beach... and then everything was hazy.

Finally, one woman had had the idea to bring her to the inn, where she could get a room for the night. The manager had even agreed to let her have it for free.

"You definitely need it," he'd said, eyeing her ragged appearance.

Now she stood in the bathhouse, nude except for the towel wrapped protectively around her. The manager had suggested she wash up while he sent for a doctor, and the girl agreed. She wanted to get all remaining memory of the blood out of her head. Especially since, now that she had seen the wound on her back, she knew that a lot of it was probably hers. The question of how she had even survived lay heavy on her mind.

Tearing herself away from her reflection, the girl stepped shakily across the cold tiled floor to the tub, which was full of hot, bubbly water. She felt her muscles relax as she slowly sank into it. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against the porcelain side of the tub and inhaled deeply. She finally felt relaxed - a wonderful feeling, she decided. She lelt herself sink even deeper into the warmth.

Her relaxation changed in an instant.

Her back struck against a knob of some sort on the interior of the basin, sending a fresh wave of pain coursing through her body. She screamed.

And suddenly, she remembered something.

* * *

_"Die!"_

_She rushed at the blonde boy, holding the huge sword over her head like an axe. She had to kill him, simply had to, after what he did! She had never drawn up the courage, the guts, to confess her love, and now he was _gone_! She couldn't _stand _it! Gripping the weapon even tighter, she prepared to bring it down with all her strength._

_Then her back erupted._

_The pain was so horrible she couldn't even scream. "M... Mart-mart..." she whispered, dropping the sword._

_"Go ahead. You can hate me all you want, but I won't ever let you hurt Emil."_

* * *

In the memory... That was the stone place. Where she had woken up. She was sure of it.

But what was that memory? Who were those two? The boy - Emil - and Mart-mart. She remembered Mart-mart saying that she was hated by... her. But she didn't feel any hatred towards the voice. She didn't feel anything.

But that just brought up the question again. Who was she?

She decided that she would have to find out. Emil and Mart-mart, they would probably be able to tell her who she was. She just wondered if anyone else in Flanoir would know them.

An hour later, she emerged from the bathhouse, dressed in clean clothes given to her by the innkeeper. She preferred these over her other clothes, which, after all, were covered in blood. But she decided to keep the rapier, which was now tucked into her belt. It seemed to give her comfort, somehow.

When she arrived back at the inn, she asked the innkeeper about them. "I don't know any Mart-mart," he'd told her, "But there was a boy named Emil who came here a while ago. There were a lot of fires being started in the area. We all thought it was an arsonist. But it turns out it was just a lightning frog. Emil got rid of the frog and stopped the fires from happening."

"Do you know how I can contact him?" she asked desperately.

"I'm sorry, I don't. But he _was_ traveling with Regal Bryant, the president of the Lezareno company. He visits here sometimes. If you wait around, I'm sure you'll run into him. He might be able to help you."

"Thank you. I will." Although disappointed that she couldn't contact Emil directly, she at least knew that she had some form of connecting with him. All that she would have to do was wait for this Regal Bryant person.

Not wanting to stay in the inn any longer, she stepped outside and looked around. This place, Flanoir, had a calming air to it. She walked slowly, trying to focus on her fleeting memory of Emil. The memory was clouded by rage - over what, she didn't know - but she still could think of his face. Blond hair, sea green eyes, and an expression of fear.

She had a sickening feeling that the fear was caused by her.

She wandered down to the beach, to the place where they had supposedly dragged her ashore. The piece of debris, a large chunk of wood, still rested there. She sat down beside it and stared out at the ocean.

The ocean didn't remember anything. It didn't need to. It was always there, always the same. Wave after wave would continue to crash down on the shore, cleansing everything that might have been there once, making everything pure. She decided she liked the ocean.

Somewhere in the distance someone called a name - probably a child to dinner. Which made her realize how hungry she was. She realized that she couldn't even remember having eaten anything, ever since she woke up_._ Gripping at her growling stomach, she stood up, and heard the same voice call the same name again. Except this time it was closer, and whoever it was had added a _Lady_ prefix. That was odd. Who would call their child _Lady Alice?_

She turned around, ready to head back into town to look for something to eat, but was stopped by an old woman who had approached her.

"Lady Alice!" the old woman exclaimed, "I never had the chance to thank you for what you did in Meltokio! Thank you, thank you, for helping my grandson!"

* * *

I feel slightly devious for leaving it like that. But at least Alice knows who she is now... well, kind of. Heh heh.

By the way, I _do_ appreciate reviews. They make me update faster.


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